Stellar Interiors - Physical Principles, Structure, and Evolution [Hardcover]

Carl J. Hansen (Author), Steven D Kawaler (Author), Virginia Trimble (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387200894 | ISBN-13: 978-0387200897 | Publication Date: February 26, 2004 | Edition: 2nd

This text, designed for beginning students of stellar physics, introduces the fundamentals of stellar structure and evolution. In emphasizing the general picture of the life cycles of stars and the physics responsible, it also allows prospective specialists a taste of many of the detailed aspects of this mature discipline. The authors develop a solid foundation in important theory that is often overlooked in typical courses, yet steer clear of extraneous intensive mathematics and physics. Topics include nuclear physics and stellar energy sources, the equation of state of stellar material, phenomenological approaches to convection, and modern numerical techniques for computation of stellar evolution. Keeping pace with recent developments, the authors incorporate important elements such as asteroseismology, and the effects of rotation and magnetic fields. The text contains the source code for two useful programs, ZAMS (for constructing chemically homogeneous zero-age main sequence models) and PULS (to study the seismological properties of the ZAMS models). Some chapters include exercises. The new edition will be updated throughout to incorporate new observational and theoretical insights, and the programs will be updated to modern standards.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews of the second edition: "This updated edition will be welcomed by the scientific community. … gives an excellent general introduction to the subject. …This book is especially suited for students in astrophysics and astronomy at the master level or starting a Ph.D. thesis, but also for post-graduate science students looking to enlarge their horizon." (Cyriel Wagemans, Physicalia, Vol. 57(3), 2005) "This book is aimed at senior undergraduate or early graduate students in astronomy … . It provides a broad overview of the physical basics of stellar structure and evolution sufficient to whet the appetite of the student sufficiently … . Recommended, yes, but only for serious students of stellar physics, as light reading, or a pretty picture book, it is not." (Roger Feasey, Journal of the Auckland Astronomical Society AAS, February, 2005)  

From the Back Cover

This text, updated and expanded from the first edition, is designed for beginning students of stellar physics, and introduces the fundamentals of stellar structure and evolution. In emphasizing the general picture of the life cycles of stars and the physics responsible, it also allows prospective specialists a taste of many of the detailed aspects of this mature discipline. The authors develop a solid foundation in important theory that is often overlooked in typical courses yet steer clear of extraneous intensive mathematics and physics. Topics include: *The life stories of stars explained by observation and theory *Equations of state of stellar material *Basic radiative transfer and stellar spectra *Stellar energy sources and nucleosynthesis *Phenomenological approaches to convection *Numerical techniques for computation of stellar evolution Keeping pace with recent developments, the authors incorporate important elements such as asteroseismology, and the effects of rotation and magnetic fields. The attached CD-ROM contains a suite of stellar structure, evolution, and pulsation source codes in FORTRAN suitable for compilation under Unix-based systems, MS Windows platforms, etc. Some executable code is included for Windows PCs. The CD also includes illustrations of results of stellar evolution calculations for a variety of evolutionary phases. This edition contains an extensive set of exercises that supplement and expand on the text.   About the authors: Carl Hansen is Professor Emeritus of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, and Fellow Adjoint of JILA, at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Steve Kawaler is Professor of Astrophysics at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Virginia Trimble is Professor of Physics at the University of California, Irvine, and Visiting Professor of Astronomy at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 538 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 2nd edition (February 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387200894
• ISBN-13: 978-0387200897
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #399,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Geophysics

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book on stellar astrophysics, April 15, 2011

By 

physics student "visviva" (St. John's, Newfoundland Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stellar Interiors - Physical Principles, Structure, and Evolution (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book on stellar astrophysics. It is comprehensive and detailed. The authors
know their material very well, and are able to present, discuss, and explain it concisely.
I knew a fair amount about stellar astrophysics before reading this book, but I certainly know more
now.

The book has a little of the flavour of Chandrasekhar's work on stellar structure, to its benefit
(Chandrasekhar's book itself is grievously obsolete). Some of this influence is shown in the section on
Stellar Modelling, with its lengthy discussion of polytropes, and the Eddington standard model.

That section on stellar modelling is an excellent feature, as it is not something which necessarily finds
its way into books on stellar structure.

One matter, however. The advertised CD-ROM is not included. My copy was printed late in 2010. The material
can be found at [...]. Neither the ISBN-10 (from the book) nor the ISBN-13 (available here at Amazon)
worked, but browsing by year I found it. Shockingly, the ATMOS section and the EVOLUTION section have only
Windows executables, though there is a link in one section to what is described as modern Unix code.

Really, functional Fortran code is the icing on the cake, the cake being a very fine book on stellar astrophysics.